Dean Norris

One of the busiest character actors of the late 20th and early 21st century, Dean Norris worked steadily in features and on television, essaying an astonishing number of policemen, detectives, militar...
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Breaking Bad star Dean Norris is set to revisit the birth of America as Benjamin Franklin in historic new TV mini-series Sons Of Liberty. The four-part drama, which will premiere in January (15), will also feature Brit Rafe Spall as John Hancock, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial star Henry Thomas as John Adams and Resident Evil: Extinction actor Jason O'Mara as George Washington.

Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
With extended metaphors about the expanding universe, every troubled teen gambit in the book, and (most of all) that title, Men, Women &amp; Children seems to carry some extreme delusions of grandeur. But despite a sizeable cast and some menacing musical cues, this isn’t the high school Magnolia that Jason Reitman wants it to be. Still, enough instances of charm and humanity peek up from the haze of self-importance, allowing us something entirely watchable… if not all that inspiring.
The film opens with a fresh bounty on the head of the digital age. As we make our way through seven or eight interwoven stories, we watch a vigilant takedown of the myriad toxicities implied by the Web’s place in our society today. Texting, social media, dating websites, personal pages, Tumblr, MMORPGS, discussion forums, and Internet porn all get their 'The More You Know' segments via technologically-induced shortcomings of a Texan suburb with a double dose of Weltschmerz.
The after school specials vary in attraction. While the blossoming romance between acerbic Kaitlyn Dever (whose helicopter mom, Jennifer Garner, tracks every move she makes) and head-in-the-clouds ex-jock Ansel Elgort (who sinks into a World of Warcraft-type game in the wake of his parents’ divorce) has plenty of spark — for which we credit Dever — the marital decay of Adam Sandler and Rosemarie DeWitt is a chapter that we’re consistently trudging through.
Paramount Pictures via Everett Collection
Tying into the self-satisfaction that courses through Men, Women &amp; Children’s every scene is an air of melodrama, the biggest atrocity committed by any of the film’s episodes. Beyond just robbing the movie of authentic gusto, the “overdoing it” approach actually works to undo any of the messages that the film wants to impart — when you’re dealing with paramount issues like depression, eating disorders, and teen pregnancy, it’s imperative to keep things sincere.
Thanks to a ganglion of inherently watchable people — Dever tops the lot, but Dean Norris and Judy Greer make up a screen duo that, despite deficient characters, doesn’t want for much chemistry — and its propensity to keep focus on no individual party for more than a few minutes at a time, Men, Women &amp; Children never becomes an absolute bore. But the pride in what it is saying and such ostentatiousness in how it presents its thoughts dominate. The movie isn’t half the movie it thinks it is.
2.5/5
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Irish actor Jason O'Mara is set to portray the first U.S. president, George Washington, in the mini-series Sons Of Liberty. The Resident Evil: Extinction star will join the previously announced cast, which includes Ben Barnes, Ryan Eggold and Dean Norris, in the six-part show, which will chronicle the beginnings of the Unites States of America, according to TheWrap.com.
Filmmaker Kari Skogland will direct the mini-series.

Netflix
The Fourth Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards were held Thursday night, with AMC's Breaking Bad, Netflix's Orange Is the New Black, and FX's Fargo coming away with the big wins. The awards, which are chosen by TV critics, have a knack for recognizing the programs and performances that are often overlooked by the other big television award shows. But do the slightly out-there nominees have a chance for gold when it comes to the Primetime Emmys? We've decided to predict the nominees and winners of this year's Emmys based on the winners of last nights Critics Choice Awards. The two award shows might have more winners in common than you would expect.
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsThe Americans Breaking BadGame of Thrones The Good Wife Masters of Sex True Detective
Emmy PredictionsBreaking BadGame of ThronesThe Good WifeHouse of CardsMad MenTrue Detective
Last year's Emmy winner, Breaking Bad, is coming off a fantastic final season, so it's hard to reason how Vince Gilligan's masterwork won't win the night's big award yet again. But on the slim chance that Bad doesn't win (and we mean slim), True Detective is the most sensible alternative. We don't expect low profile dramas like Masters of Sex and The Americans to be recognized by the Emmys, and the hype on Downton Abbey has cooled of considerably this year. Another Emmy favorite, Homeland, had its worst season yet last year, freeing the category up for some new blood.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsThe Big Bang Theory Broad City Louie Orange Is the New Black Silicon Valley Veep
Emmy PredictionsThe Big Bang TheoryLouieModern FamilyOrange Is the New BlackParks and RecreationVeep
Freshman dramedy Orange Is the New Black will certainly get nominated at the Emmys, but we're doubtful that Netflix's prison series will win the top prize like it did at the Critics' Choice Awards, certainly not in a race that includes Modern Family. The juggernaut of a sitcom has won the category four times in a row, and there's nothing with enough buzz to stop it's warpath. Elsewhere, Critics' Choice nominees like Silicon Valley and Broad City are way off the Emmys radar, and don't stand a chance of getting nominated.
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsBryan Cranston, Breaking Bad Hugh Dancy, Hannibal Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel Matthew McConaughey, True Detective Matthew Rhys, The Americans Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex
Emmy PredictionsBryan Cranston, Breaking BadJeff Daniels, The NewsroomJohn Hamm, Mad MenDamien Lewis, HomelandMatthew McConaughey, True DetectiveKevin Spacey, House of Cards
McConaughey came out on top at the Critic's Choice Awards, but despite his massive performance in True Detective, we're doubtful he will best Cranston at the Emmys. We're expecting the rest of the category's Emmy nominees to be rounded out with the usual suspects. While the critics recognized the great performances in Hannibal, The Americans, and Bates Motel, we're doubtful that any of those shows will make it to the Emmys this year, or any year for that matter.
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice Awards Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black Keri Russell, The Americans Robin Wright, House of Cards
Emmy PredictionsClaire Danes, HomelandJulianna Margules, The Good WifeElisabeth Moss, Mad MenTatiana Maslany, Orphan BlackKerry Washington, ScandalRobin Wright, House of Cards
When the dust settles, we're expecting Tatiana Maslany to also win the Emmy in this category. At this point, her hype is insurmountable, and riots might break out if she doesn't leave the Nokia theater with something golden.
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsLouis C.K., Louie Chris Messina, The Mindy Project Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones
Emmy PredictionsDon Cheadle, House of LiesLouis C.K., LouieMatt LeBlanc, EpisodesJim Parsons, The Big Band TheoryAndy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-NineRobin Williams, The Crazy Ones
The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons will likely walk home with both awards. In terms of the other nominations, there's no way Chris Messina or Thomas Middleditch have a chance at securing an Emmy nomination. We're also betting that Robin Williams gets nominated, due mostly due organization's usual affection for "veterans" ... or so the Emmys have an excuse to invite the actor to the show and hear his Genie voice.
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsIlana Glazer, Broad City Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Goldbergs Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer Emmy Rossum, Shameless
Emmy PredictionsZooey Deschanel, New GirlLena Dunham, GirlsEdie Falco, Nurse JackieJulia Louis-Dreyfus, VeepMelissa McCarthy, Mike &amp; MollyAmy Poehler, Parks and RecreatonLouis-Dreyfus' foul-mouthed vice-prez will likely win the Emmy along with the Critics' Choice Award this year. As for the other nomination slots, Glazer and Schumer have no chance at getting nominated for Emmys. We're expecting the rest of the nomination list to be filled up with Emmys regulars like Melissa McCarthy and Edie Falco.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsJosh Charles, The Good Wife Walton Goggins, Justified Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad Peter Sarsgaard, The Killing Jon Voight, Ray Donovan Jeffrey Wright, Boardwalk Empire
Emmy PredictionsPeter Dinklage, Game of ThronesWalton Goggins, JustifiedAaron Paul, Breaking BadDean Norris, Breaking BadMandy Patinkin, HomelandJeffery Wright, Boardwalk Empire
Aaron Paul seems like a lock for the Emmys this year. The only person we could see upsetting what is basically destiny at this point is Peter Dinklage, who had a massive year on Game of Thrones. As for the other nominees, we are actually expecting the two award shows to stack up pretty similarly. Mandy Patinkin will definitely get an Emmy nod, while there might be enough space in the mix for long-snubbed Walton Goggins. One can dream, right?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsChristine Baranski, The Good Wife Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad Annet Mahendru, The Americans Melissa McBride, The Walking Dead Maggie Siff, Sons of Anarchy Bellamy Young, Scandal
Emmy PredictionsChristine Baranski, The Good WifeEmilia Clarke, Game of ThronesAnna Gunn, Breaking BadChristina Hendricks, Mad MenMichelle Monaghan, True DetectiveMaggie Smith, Downton Abbey
While Anna Gunn didn't secure a Critics' Choice Award for the last season of Breaking Bad, we're betting she goes home with an Emmy this September. As for the other nominees, we don't expect Maggie Siff, Melissa McBride, and Annet Mahendru to get an Emmy nod, even though each actress certainly deserves the recognition.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsAndre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Keith David, Enlisted Tony Hale, Veep Albert Tsai, Trophy Wife Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley Jeremy Allen White, Shameless
Emmy PredictionsAndre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-NineJesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern FamilyEric Stonestreet, Modern FamilyTy Burrell, Modern FamilyTony Hale, VeepNick Offerman, Parks and RecreationAt this point, the supporting actor in a comedy category should be renamed the "Which Modern Family actor hasn't won in a while?" and that honor goes to Ferguson. Even though the Critics' Choice Awards don't feature a single nominee from ABC's dominant sitcom, expect at least three nominees from the show on Emmy night. Four if Ed O'Neil sneaks his way onto the bill. Also, kudos to the Critics Choice awards for nominating Albert Tsai for Trophy Wife. Bert will live in our hearts forever.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Critics' Choice AwardsMayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory Allison Janney, Mom Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Emmy PredictionsMayim Bialik, The Big Bang TheoryJulie Bowen, Modern FamilyAllison Janney, MomKate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New BlackSofia Vergara, Modern FamilyMerrit Weaver, Nurse Jackie
It might be crazy talk, but we think this category is Orange Is the New Black's best chance for its first Emmy. The show has such a dynamite supporting cast and heavy following that it may be able to crack the winner's circle in its first year of eligibility. We're thinking Kate Mulgrew has a good chance since Modern Family isn't nearly as dominant in this category as it is in Best Supporting Actor.
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Country singer Dwight Yoakam has been cast in a recurring role on U.S. TV drama Under The Dome. The musician is heading back to the small screen this summer (14) in the popular thriller, which is based on author Stephen King's novel of the same name.
Yoakam is set to play a barbershop owner who has a complicated relationship with lead character Big Jim, portrayed by former Breaking Bad star Dean Norris.
The Grammy winner has starred in over 35 films including Panic Room and Sling Blade, and, on television, he most recently had a recurring role in Elijah Wood's TV series Wilfred.

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul is in "serious talks" to reprise his role in the hit TV drama for the show's upcoming spin-off series, Better Call Saul. Show co-creator Vince Gilligan has been working on a prequel based on the dodgy dealings of lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, and Paul reveals he has been invited to reunite with his old co-stars as troubled youth Jesse Pinkman.
His character will be portrayed as a low-level drug dealer before he joined forces with his high school chemistry teacher-turned-drug lord Walter White (Bryan Cranston).
He tells the New York Daily News, "Anything Vince is involved with, I'm there. I owe him my entire career. And the idea of jumping into the skin of Jesse Pinkman again in his lighter days - because it's all a prequel - it would be fun."
Paul won't be the only familiar face making an appearance on Better Call Saul - Jonathan Banks, who played private investigator Mike Ehrmantraut, has also signed on for the series.
It is not yet known if Cranston will also return, but Dean Norris, who was cast as his onscreen brother-in-law and drug enforcement agent Hank Schrader, will not be part of the reunion.
He says, "I think that experience was that experience. I'm not a big fan of kind of revisiting something that has already been done. But I think it's going to be awesome. So I can't wait to see it."
Better Call Saul is due to debut on America's AMC network in November (14), a year after Breaking Bad's fifth and final season aired on TV.

Lions Gate via Everett Collection
When we last left our heroes, they had conquered all opponents in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, returned home to their newly refurbished living quarters in District 12, and fallen haplessly to the cannibalism of PTSD. And now we're back! Hitching our wagons once again to laconic Katniss Everdeen and her sweet-natured, just-for-the-camera boyfriend Peeta Mellark as they gear up for a second go at the Capitol's killing fields.
But hold your horses — there's a good hour and a half before we step back into the arena. However, the time spent with Katniss and Peeta before the announcement that they'll be competing again for the ceremonial Quarter Quell does not drag. In fact, it's got some of the film franchise's most interesting commentary about celebrity, reality television, and the media so far, well outweighing the merit of The Hunger Games' satire on the subject matter by having Katniss struggle with her responsibilities as Panem's idol. Does she abide by the command of status quo, delighting in the public's applause for her and keeping them complacently saturated with her smiles and curtsies? Or does Katniss hold three fingers high in opposition to the machine into which she has been thrown? It's a quarrel that the real Jennifer Lawrence would handle with a castigation of the media and a joke about sandwiches, or something... but her stakes are, admittedly, much lower. Harvey Weinstein isn't threatening to kill her secret boyfriend.
Through this chapter, Katniss also grapples with a more personal warfare: her devotion to Gale (despite her inability to commit to the idea of love) and her family, her complicated, moralistic affection for Peeta, her remorse over losing Rue, and her agonizing desire to flee the eye of the public and the Capitol. Oftentimes, Katniss' depression and guilty conscience transcends the bounds of sappy. Her soap opera scenes with a soot-covered Gale really push the limits, saved if only by the undeniable grace and charisma of star Lawrence at every step along the way of this film. So it's sappy, but never too sappy.
In fact, Catching Fire is a masterpiece of pushing limits as far as they'll extend before the point of diminishing returns. Director Francis Lawrence maintains an ambiance that lends to emotional investment but never imposes too much realism as to drip into territories of grit. All of Catching Fire lives in a dreamlike state, a stark contrast to Hunger Games' guttural, grimacing quality that robbed it of the life force Suzanne Collins pumped into her first novel.
Once we get to the thunderdome, our engines are effectively revved for the "fun part." Katniss, Peeta, and their array of allies and enemies traverse a nightmare course that seems perfectly suited for a videogame spin-off. At this point, we've spent just enough time with the secondary characters to grow a bit fond of them — deliberately obnoxious Finnick, jarringly provocative Johanna, offbeat geeks Beedee and Wiress — but not quite enough to dissolve the mystery surrounding any of them or their true intentions (which become more and more enigmatic as the film progresses). We only need adhere to Katniss and Peeta once tossed in the pit of doom that is the 75th Hunger Games arena, but finding real characters in the other tributes makes for a far more fun round of extreme manhunt.
But Catching Fire doesn't vie for anything particularly grand. It entertains and engages, having fun with and anchoring weight to its characters and circumstances, but stays within the expected confines of what a Hunger Games movie can be. It's a good one, but without shooting for succinctly interesting or surprising work with Katniss and her relationships or taking a stab at anything but the obvious in terms of sending up the militant tyrannical autocracy, it never even closes in on the possibility of being a great one.
3.5/5
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CBS
Listen, I know many people have been having Breaking Bad withdrawal symptoms. I know I have: Sunday nights just don't feel right. That's why it was such a relief to hear that Bryan Cranston would be making an appearance on How I Met Your Mother. He'll be reprising the role of Hammond Druthers that he played before that whole blue meth cook role took off. Actually, given how ruthless Druthers was towards Josh Radnor's Ted Mosby and his co-workers, he probably would have partnered with Walter White. It's still going to be really interesting to see him return to comedy.
It's been fun seeing people cross back on to network television after an extended stay. Betsy Brandt, Cranston's fellow Breaking Bad castmate, is on The Michael J. Fox Show, Dean Norris was in a mini-series in between seasons and Aaron Staton from Mad Men recently appeared on Person of Interest. It feels like they are back among the regular folk after being on higher fare on cable. It's almost like an Easter Egg: "Hey, I've seen that actor on another show!"
With Cranston, people forget that he was so good as the befuddled father on Malcolm in the Middle before taking his iconic role. When Breaking Bad first came out, people were saying, "Malcom's dad is a chemistry teacher who is going to be selling meth?" I think Cranston is making this pit stop in comedy to shed the moral weight and weariness that playing White must have felt, especially with his transformation from a man who was trying to do what he could for his family to an almost inhuman monster that didn't care who or what got in his path.
Cranston is one of those actors who can slip into whatever role he wants to play seemingly quite effortlessly and he's definitely not going to find his comedic timing off when he's on How I Met Your Mother. It wouldn't be surprising if the show got really good numbers because of Breaking Bad fans also tuning in.
Of course, it would be great if the How I Met Your Mother writers somehow worked White's "I. Am. The. Danger." quote in there just to appease us Breaking Bad addicts. If that happened, the television would probably just explode from awesomeness, as it should. Welcome back to comedy, Mr. Cranston, however short the stay may be.
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HBO
With the Emmys no more than a distant (and less than fond) memory, let’s talk about some incredible actors who somehow seem to get missed when the nominations for big awards get passed out.
Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
Tell me, how is it that January Jones has an Emmy nomination and Jennifer Carpenter doesn’t? On a show that grew increasingly melodramatic (read: bad), she stayed solid. Some actors started phoning it in, but Carpenter? She kept on dropping those F-bombs until the bitter end. And then they unceremoniously killed her off by blood clot. A blood clot! We were already done with the tragically unexpected blood clot/stroke thing when Grey’s Anatomy did it back in 2006.
Emily Mortimer (The Newsroom)
People love to hate on The Newsroom, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some solid acting going on. Emmy Winner Jeff Daniels, anyone? Anyone?
Anyway, there’s someone else from Newsroom that I’m kind of in love with (no, it’s not Olivia Munn): Emily Mortimer. Many have complained about the at-times ditzy and almost-constantly lovelorn characterization of MacKenzie, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Mortimer is seriously delivering. She plays that flawed character for more than it’s worth: she’s simultaneously the emotional and moral center of the show and the comic relief a good percentage of the time. I don’t want start any wars here, but I think she could give Anna Gunn a serious run for her money.
Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)
From bumblingly obnoxious uncle to the revenge-hungry ASAC "Go F--k Yourself" Schrader, Norris hit all the right notes — even Anthony Hopkins thinks so, according to The Huffington Post. But where are all the awards? I suppose on a show filled with Walter Whites, Jesse Pinkmans, and Gus Frings, it would be hard for the comparatively-less-flashy Hank to catch a break; though maybe his crazily awesome death scene will finally get him the recognition he deserves.
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20th Century Fox
There is an obvious standout scene in The Counselor, one you'll recognize as soon as you reach it: without giving too much away, it involves a wild-eyed Javier Bardem recounting, to his pal and fledgling criminal Michael Fassbender, a sexually-charged memory involving himself, his beloved and bewildering Cameron Diaz, and the windshield of his flashy yellow convertible. Flashing back between lines of Bardem's trembling narration to haunting snapshots of the event in question, we witness the film peak in electricity — we see the cast having a rare bit of fun on this slow crawl through the crevices of human desperation, and we see Ridley Scott's stronghold on the direction of the film loosen just a bit to give the script's weirdest material a venue worthy of its character.
It's a unique moment in the movie when it doesn't feel like the grisly, earthy realism of Scott's vision and the savory heightened reality pulsing through Cormac McCarthy's script are at odds. More often than not, the The Counselor's desert backdrop and dispirited denizens dry out the movie to the point where what we're watching, no matter how attractive, feels like it's forcing its way down. But it's the brief snippets into the otherworldly imagination of McCarthy, who writes this script as if it were a novel, that keeps us drinking up The Counselor.
We enjoy festive gulps of the characters who speak almost entirely in maxims, and the bizarre world that seems to operate in accordance with these bubbles of nihilistic wisdom. While Fassbender's male lead is scrubbed clean of any role beyond the courier of Scott's occasionally barren A-story thriller, and his fleeting accomplice Brad Pitt offers little more than a head of hair from which to shield your eyes, some of The Counselor's more inviting participants manage to really make McCarthy's poetry work. Bardem, as a criminal world fixture terrified and undone by his powerhouse lover — bouncing between our sympathies and alien fascination — lays claim to some of the movie's most engrossing scenes, the aforementioned topping the list. But the only performer who truly embodies the fantastical genus of McCarthy's writing is Diaz, offering not so much a character from a peculiar story but a creature from a bizarre planet.
As the sun around which McCarthy's solar system revolves, Diaz institutes herself as the beacon of the weird wilderness with which this script is filled. Covered in cheetah spots, sporting a gold tooth, and never wavering from her flawlessly delivered tenets of sociopathy, Diaz gives us the height of The Counselor's capabilities, the pinnacle of what would — in more generous hands — emancipate it entirely from the gritty crime thriller identity it winds up inhabiting.
Although Scott is a director with penache, he gets in the way of McCarthys' strengths on this outing. Having imbued so many science-fiction stories with the reality and humanity they needed, Scott seems to miss the point on this one: The Counselor is a real world thriller that needs more of the feel of McCarthy's fantasy.
2.5/5
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Title

Summary

One of the busiest character actors of the late 20th and early 21st century, Dean Norris worked steadily in features and on television, essaying an astonishing number of policemen, detectives, military men and the occasional criminal, all without name recognition or acclaim until his much-lauded turn as a DEA agent on "Breaking Bad" (AMC, 2008-2013). His flinty exterior made him an ideal screen match for such Hollywood tough guys as Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, though he could be found more often on small screen dramas ranging from "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005) and "The X-Files" (Fox, 1993-2002) to "24" (Fox, 2001-2010) and "The West Wing" (NBC, 1996-2006). In 2008, he was cast as Hank Schrader, the blustery brother-in-law to Bryan Cranston's teacher/meth kingpin on "Breaking Bad," which became a major critical hit for five years. In addition to increasing his profile, the series also allowed Norris to show a greater range of emotions than in previous projects, which in turn, made him a much-desired character player in higher profile feature projects. Norris' tenacity and professionalism gave living proof that acting careers could still blossom after decades in the business.